One Killed and 9 Are Hurt in Blast at Metal Parts Factory

By JONATHAN MILLER

Published: January 16, 2008

An explosion at a small metal parts factory flung a man 30 feet, killing him and injuring nine others on Tuesday -- three critically -- according to the authorities here.

The police said that about 8 a.m. a maintenance supervisor at the factory, Tec-Cast Inc., which manufactures aluminum castings, was trying to repair a seal or a gasket in a four-foot-wide pressurized vat when a cast-iron door blew off, striking him.

Workers at the factory identified the dead man as Mario Gomez, 61, a Honduran immigrant who lived in Jersey City. The police said that he died at the scene after suffering severe trauma to the head, torso and legs.

Nine other workers were also injured as parts of the vat were sprayed in the blast.

''It sounded like a bomb went off,'' said a worker at the neighboring M.A.B. Paints store, who gave only his first name, Alex. ''The next thing I heard was people crying.''

It was unclear what caused the vat to explode, said Capt. Franklin A. Smith of the Carlstadt Police Department, although he added that a pressure buildup might be to blame. ''They were doing a repair to the seal, and the door hinges and seal broke off, and the door flew off,'' he said.

Witnesses described an earth-shaking boom, sending workers streaming from the plant screaming and crying.

''It was like shrapnel striking people,'' Captain Smith said.

Several workers suffered broken bones and severe cuts to the head, torso, legs and arms. Five were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. Two others were taken to Meadowlands Hospital in Secaucus and later released, said a spokesman there.

Co-workers said Mr. Gomez had been working at Tec-Cast for about seven years.

''He was going to retire next year,'' said Gabriel Diaz, an inspector for the company.

Several workers returned later in the day, including Ramon Agramonte, 36, whose right leg was in a cast. Through a translator, Mr. Agramonte -- who still seemed dazed -- said that he had been near the vat during the explosion and that its force had thrown him to the ground, injuring his leg and knee. ''Nobody knows what happened,'' he said.

On Tuesday afternoon, the authorities were investigating the cause. Tec-Cast is in a one-story brick building just north of the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

Captain Smith said the company had manufactured aluminum parts there for more than 30 years without such an accident. He identified the owner of Tec-Cast as Edgar Gotthold, who did not respond to several requests for an interview.

Records from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration show that a second plant owned by Tec-Cast, in Moonachie, passed inspection in October with no violations. But in 1998, the agency cited the Tec-Cast plant here for multiple violations, for which it paid $6,000.

A person answering the phone at Tec-Cast on Tuesday afternoon identified himself as an employee but declined to give his name.

''We're handling it day to day; it's the first day,'' the employee said. ''Everybody is very upset about it at the moment, and we're trying to sort it out.''

PHOTO: Capt. Franklin A. Smith of the Carlstadt Police Department said it was unclear what had caused the explosion at Tec-Cast Inc.(PHOTOGRAPH BY COLIN ARCHER/AGENCY NEW JERSEY)